I have no illusions about the reasons this lovely piece of land might be preserved.

I know it's not just because it contains two good-sized springs that feed a robust estuary.

I'm aware that the unusual spine of oak-covered hammock running through this chunk of coastal lowland probably has little to do with the Southwest Florida Water Management District's sudden interest in it.

I don't think any of the Tallahassee people who got the district moving on this parcel give a flip about connectivity, or that this land helps fill in a wildlife corridor that stretches over several counties.

And I would not be surprised if the clear spring runs flowing by cabbage palms on these 90 acres end up in an election-year photo demonstrating Gov. Rick Scott's profound desire to preserve Florida's springs.

Really, I'm fine with that. I don't care if this is all being done for politics. I'm just glad it's being done.

• • •

You may remember when acquiring natural land in coastal Hernando and Pasco counties was a top priority for Swiftmud. Its scientists talked about the need to protect water quality and the habitat of one the country's smallest and most vulnerable populations of black bears.

There was the purchase of the original 6,000 acres of the Weekiwachee Preserve in 1994 and the acquisitions of many other nearby properties, including ones that expanded the preserve to more than 11,000 acres.

In the past few years, however, nothing much has happened in this part of Florida, and nothing at all since the district pulled off a 2010 land swap that allowed the massive SunWest Harbourtowne development to turn bear habitat into a golf course.

But today, Swiftmud's governing board will discuss adding not just one but two pieces of natural land to the south of the Weekiwachee Preserve.

One is a complicated deal that, for little or no cash, would give the district the development rights to a 407-acre tree farm. The other is the purchase of the 90-acre jewel near Aripeka named after its most outstanding feature, Boat Springs.

Both Hernando and Pasco tried to buy their portions of this land three years ago.

The deals fell through because the owner, Andrew Steele of Fort Myers, demanded more than the counties' appraised value of $1.4 million.

• • •

Swiftmud is talking — yes, just talking at this point — about making another offer with Hernando and Pasco. All three parties are willing, and all of them have some money set aside.

Why did this come up now? Why are Florida's cool springs suddenly a hot topic for the governor, who just a few weeks ago set aside $37 million for spring protection?

I suspect his concern has something to do with the articles by the Times' Craig Pittman documenting Scott's sorry record on this front. And, of course, maybe Scott is not really concerned about the environment. Maybe he's just pretending to be.

1. Was editor of her high school newspaper, president of her 4-H club.2. Started stripping at age 17 in Baton Rouge, La.3. Made her first porn film with a girlfriend.4. Took her stage name from the Motley Crue bassist, who named his son Storm, and fr...

MUNICH — President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said Saturday there was "incontrovertible" evidence of a Russian plot to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election, a blunt statement that shows how significantly the new criminal charges leveled by an...

A prominent Republican political donor demanded on Saturday that the party pass legislation to restrict access to guns, and vowed not to contribute to any candidates or electioneering groups that did not support a ban on the sale of military-style fi...

ST. PETERSBURG — A red heart-shaped balloon rose above crowd of several hundred people that had gathered at Williams Park on Saturday evening to mourn Wednesday’s school shooting in Broward County and to protest gun violence.Below the balloon, signs ...

TAMPA — Leonard Bernstein would have turned 100 this year. The Florida Orchestra performed two of his works Friday, the second of which paired the dances from West Side Story with the overture to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.The orches...

TAMPA — In the center of the nightclub, between the cigar case and bustling bar, a giant screen blankets the back wall. Usually, ads for drink specials and coming attractions scroll across.But Friday night, a life-size picture of President Donald Tru...

TAMPA — Firefighters found a man dead inside a burned-down mobile home Saturday.Tampa Fire Rescue got a call just after 4:30 p.m. that a single-wide mobile home at the 100 block of East Linebaugh Avenue was in flames.The man’s identity was not releas...

Warning: This story quotes graphic material.Before he killed 17 people at a South Florida high school, Nikolas Cruz repeatedly threatened an ex-classmate who had started dating his former girlfriend, according to a report in Buzzfeed News."I’m going ...

TAMPA — Police found a dead man inside an apartment in the 5200 block of Sonora Court Friday after 3 p.m.Who the man is or how long he’s been dead is not yet clear, police said. The victim appears to have been killed in some sort of "homicidal violen...

PINELLAS PARK — Police said they will have a heightened presence at two Pinellas Park schools after a school shooting threat was shared on social media.A post Friday on social media app Snapchat threatened a possible school shooting Tuesday, accordin...